Russian Open

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5-3; +1.30pts 

Round 1 play (2pts):

David Drysdale to beat Damien McGrane -115 @ 5Dimes  WON by 2
A new course is being used this week, but Drysdale does have a particularly good record in this event with three top-5 finishes in his last five Russian Opens. He is also in much better form with cuts made in each of his last five starts, whereas McGrane has made the cut in just one of his last five starts. Drysdale has dominated this matchup over the last six months and warrants favouritism in this matchup.

Round 2 plays (2pts):

Craig Lee to beat David Drysdale -114 @ Pinnacle [also available @ 5Dimes and SkyBet]  TIED
Drysdale was backed in rd1 on the basis of his steady form and excellent record in this event, but he is opposed in rd2 with a player in better form - he finished 8th last week in the Czech Masters - and played particularly well from tee-to-green today. Both are just outside the top-110 on the Race to Dubai and so need a good week. Lee, in 5th place after rd1, looks set to achieve that and is better placed than Drysdale in 13th.

Paul Peterson to beat Carlos Del Moral +100 @ SkyBet  WON by 2
Del Moral is also just outside the top-110 on the Race to Dubai, but he shot 75 today and is four shots off the cut line. I don't see him bouncing back tomorrow, whereas Peterson doesn't have the 2016 European Tour Card pressures as he is inside the top-10 on the Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit. While that Tour is on a break, he recorded a top-20 finish in Denmark and looks more than capable of beating Del Moral for a second day.

Peter Lawrie to beat Daniel Gaunt +110 @ Pinnacle [also available @ 5Dimes and SkyBet]  LOST by 3
Surprised to see Lawrie as an underdog in this matchup. Gaunt is leading a European Tour at the end of the day for just the second time in his career and on the previous occasion - 2015 BMW International Open - he then dropped to 13th in rd2. He is 1-for-6 when leading after rd1 on the European Challenge Tour; 1-for-4 when leading after rd2 on the Challenge Tour; and 1-for-3 when leading after rd3 on that Tour, so he has converted some of these leads into wins, but only in a minority of cases. He looks opposable tomorrow.

Adilson Da Silva to beat Paul Peterson -130 @ 5Dimes  WON by 1
Da Silva is another regular on the Asian PGA Tour and he has kept himself much busier over recent months, finishing in the top-10 in each of the last three Southern Africa Tour events. Peterson can't match that form and is already a shot behind the Brazilian after rd1. A similar outcome is expected tomorrow.

Round 3 plays (2pts):

Craig Lee to beat Jason Scrivener -110 available generally  WON by 4

Bradley Dredge to beat Lee Slattery -135 @ Pinnacle [available generally]  LOST by 5

Scott Jamieson to beat James Heath -149 @ Pinnacle [available generally]  TIED

Jacques Blaauw to beat Jordan Smith -150 @ BetVictor [available generally]  WON by 1

Maximilian Kieffer to beat Oskar Henningsson -200 @ BetVictor [available generally]  LOST by 4

No round 4 plays.